Greek family pride in Themi’s unorthodox Cup journey
Greek footballer Themistoklis Tzimopoulos had only visited New Zealand once, for his uncle’s wedding, prior to making his All Whites debut. Now he’s trying to get them to the World Cup. Phillip Rollo reports.
Even as a 13-year-old, playing for Wellington Olympic while on holiday in New Zealand, Themistoklis Tzimopoulos treated every game like it was a World Cup final.
‘‘You could see he had the talent and the desire,’’ his uncle, Basil Mitrakas, said.
Having spent his entire life in Greece, Tzimopoulos had only been to New Zealand once prior to representing the All Whites. He was here for Mitrakas’s wedding in 1998.
‘‘We had a mid-winter wedding, so their summer, to make it easier for them to come over.’’
Tzimopoulos was here for three months, between June and September, which gave him sufficient time to join a 13th grade team at Wellington Olympic. He only played half a season, according to Mitrakas, but certainly left his mark.
‘‘He was pretty committed and passionate and you could see he was going to do something. We were used to going out and having a Saturday runaround but for him back then it was almost like a World Cup final, the way he was playing. You could see that he just had to win every game.’’
Despite stepping into the country just once, Tzimopoulos is eligible to represent the All Whites because his mother, Sophia Tzimopoulos, was born in New Zealand. His grandparents, George and Agnes Mitrakas, migrated here in 1963 and she was born the year after.
The Mitrakas family returned to Greece in the early 80s but only lasted three years before packing their bags for New Zealand again. Sophia was engaged then married during this period, so she stayed put in Greece. She gave birth to Tzimopoulos in 1985.
Although Tzimopoulos spent his entire life in Greece, his family connection remain strong in Wellington. His grandmother still lives in the capital and has watched many of his games on satellite television. She will be in attendance when the All Whites play Peru for a place at the World Cup.
Mitrakas said a club member at Wellington Olympic had informed New Zealand Football that Tzimopoulos, a PAS Giannina regular with more than a century of Greek Super League appearances to his name, was eligible to play for the All Whites, many years ago.
However, nothing came of it until Anthony Hudson came on board as All Whites coach and took the unusual approach of going on a British radio show in attempt to discover foreign players who may be eligible to represent New Zealand.
This time, when Tzimopoulos’s name was put forward, he was not ignored. The 31-year-old made his international debut on March 31, 2015, against South Korea and has now played 14 times for New Zealand.
Mitrakas said extremely exciting journey.
‘‘The fact that he was playing in the top league in Greece, he had a good chance of making it playing for Greece but then as he got older
You could see that he just had to win every game. Basil Mitrakas
it to has been follow his maybe it wasn’t going to happen, and then this New Zealand window appeared so that was a great opportunity for him.
‘‘He did really well there and now it’s two years later but it’s all been building up to these games at the end of this World Cup cycle. This is the ultimate test now.’’
Mitrakas said although the 1.88m tall centre-back looks like a ‘‘hard man’’ on the field, he described him as a ‘‘a great guy’’ and a ‘‘family man’’ off it.
‘‘He loves his family. He’s newlymarried with a young child and he’s very easy to get along with and he was very friendly with everyone he met here. He’s very devoted to his young child. I think she’s just turned one so all the talk and photos are of family these days.’’
With the All Whites squad set to be revealed today, Mitrakas said he was waiting in anticipation, hoping to be reunited with his nephew once again.